Wrench



Feb.13,1923. 1,445,190'.

K. W. WIRTANEN.

WRENCH.

FILED MAY18.1921.

@j @Tg2 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

vUmmHHUHNHIH 1,445,190. K. w. WIRTANEN.

WRENCH. FILED MAY 18. 192|.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

\ mbefntoz yfm1@ w @www Mb www y Patented Feb. 13, 1923.

KALLEW'. WIRTANEN, orivnw Yori-K, iv. Y.,

' WRENCH.

Application filed May 18, i921.` Serial lo. 470,642..

7 'o all 'who/m it 'may cofiwewt:

Be it knownthat I, KALLE W. lVinrnNnN, a citizen oi? the United States,and resident of 2l() Nest 147th St., New. York, in the county of NewYork and State of New York, have invented certain new `and usei'ullmproveinents in l/Vrenches, of which the 'following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to wrenches in general and particularly to a kindadapted for universal. use. provided with automatically operating'jawsinsuring :an instantaneous grip upon the article to be engaged thereby.

One of the prime objects of my invention is to provide a simple,effective device which will permit a manual rough adjustmentof v thedistance between the jaws, and an automatic tine adjustment therebetweenwhen gripping an article.

A further object provide mea-ns whereby .such instantaneous grippingoperation is assured without any lost motion of the wrench proper.

A further object of my'invention is to designy this instantaneousgrippingnieans in such a way as to progressively increase the grip uponthe article engaged by 'the wrench when the .latter is moved in onedirection,

and to instantaneously release that article when the wrench moves inopposite direction without any lost motion otthe wrench' proper.

Another object of my invention is to provide means whereby the jaws whenautomat-v ically ne adjusting themselves move toward each other at aconstant angular relation with each other.

A further object ot my inventionv is to `provide in connection with thisprogressively grip increasing means, exchangeable jaws adapted to be setat either an angle or in parallel relation to each other, thus 'facil-litating thev wrench being used as either a pipe or monkey wrench,respectively.

The 'foregoing land still further objects will be more fully apparentfrom the follow-` ing description and the accompanying drawf ingsshowing preferred forms of my device,

and forming part of this speciiication, and

in which: i l

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my device. Fig. 2 is a front elevationthereof.

`of my invention is to iig. io.

Fig. partiallyin section. j Fig. ais a side elevationoif my device inoperation when gripping a pipe.l

Fig. 5 isa cross sectional view taken on line 5-5 o'tFig. 3Q l v Fig. 6isa bottom detail view of a prefk erredui'vor'm of the carriage. Y

big. 7 is a side elevation of my device with exchangeable,v para-Hellydisposed jaws gripping a nut.4 i.

F ig. 8 is a cross sectional viewoif myfvdevice taken on line 8 8' ofFig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a perspective kView of a preferred i ace-rm of anexchangeablejaw. v

Fig. 10 is; a side elevation oit'a modified `torni of my device withdifferently designed exchangeable jaws. i

F igzgll is afront elevation thereof.v`

is a side elevation of my device,v

Fig. 12 isa top viewf in'i'ull lines of an eX- changeable jawV in theposition shown vin ,'Fig. .liis aside elevation o't the exchangeable jawshown in Fig.`10,`in the position indicated in broken lines.

Fig la is a side velevation o't` term 'ot wrench shank withv anexchange-y able jaw. I. f. j l5 is a detail View of` the exchangeablejaw registering with the modified shank. y Fig. lis a crosssectionalview taken on line `16T-160i Fig. 15.

Fig. l? is a front elevation of thehead of the .inodiliedshank j j l lFig. 1S is another preferred Vformoitmy wrench with. automaticallyself-adjusting upper and lower jaws.

Fig. 19 is a perspective view of apreferred former a slide. f-

Reierring `to the drawings, and particu,

Aa modiiied larly to Figs. 1,2,37 4, and 5, a unitaryA shank l isillustrated provided with a gear rack 2 on itsinner'i'ace, and anenlarged head 3, having a roughly ti-iethedjaw por-- tion. indicated at4.

The upper or gear rack portion ci?v the `shank is so constructed `thatthe 'inner and outer faces are parallel Ato eachl other, while ythelower portionbelowthe racli is tapered,y i as indicated at 5 lormay beequipped withfay wooden handle vorotherwise shaped-for conve/nient use.j

Slidably mounted upon the rack portion of the shank is a carriage 6,having a longitudinal slot registering with the shank, which provides aperfect guide for the carriage- `r18h-e ibody ofthe carriage is providedwith a window indicated at 8, in which operates a conventional Worm 9,rotatably mounted upon a pin and Which engages the gear rack 2. f

The upper surface of the carriage is beveled as indicated at '11andprotruding beyond that beveled surface upward, is an extension-'12, 4theupperfsurface 13 of 'which is beveled at the same angle asisisur'facell. Art about its center, the-extension 12 is provided With'a 'longitudinalguide slot-14,v the `function of which civili beexplainedlater.

rllhe carriage may be either made of one solidcpiece'fas shown in Fig.Spor-may be made of two pieces asr shownin Figs. 1, 2, and G. lThelatter"construction comprises a til-shaped member 6 embracing the outerand the side faces `of the shank, While the Ysolid member' '5 faces therack. Thus a is formed for' receiving posed at a certain angularrelati'onto jaw 4 oli-the shank, as is clearly'fshownby eXtension linesl and l1 in Fig.- 1. Extension line 1H indicated the plane of beveledort'ion 11 of both the carriage `fand the side.

Secured to"exchangeablejaw`18 in any convenient'manner is'a'springmember 20 for causing the jaw 18 to" benormallyldis posed at asmalldista-nce from the inner surface 21 of shank 1, fvvhile at the same-time causing''bridge` 16'of yoke 15 to abut with theouter surf-aces ofthe shank.

The lower surface 22 of exchangeable jaw 18 may' be so arranged* astoglidel'uponf the upper beveled surface 13 of-extensionf12 or torest'upon a connecting bridge of the slide as lwill be explained. Inorder to positively guide the slide and prevent iti from disengaging'thecarriage 6, apin14 With-two parallel surfaces is fpassed through thesides of the slide and guide slot 14, contacting 'with latters'parallelsurfaces.

' Referring lnowto Figs. 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16

and 17 ,the jaw portions of my Wrench-may lbe made exchangeable sothat'forrthe lower `'jaw 18, 'having the*serratedfgrippinghsur- 'fface' 19vdisposed --at anfangl'e `1in relation -to gripping jaw 4, another jawmember 23 may be exchanged possessing a knurled gripping vided in head".

142 as shown at 46.

surface 24 Which is parallel with the knurled gripping surface 25 of anexchangeable jaw 26, shown in perspective View in Fig. 9.

Both of the jaws maybe provided with dovetail extensions, for instance.;{ia'vv 23 with a dovetail extension 27, While slide 15 iscorrespondingly shaped as indicated at By'- meansofthrough-going screws29, Jaw -23 is positively secured to slide 15.

The exchangeable upper -or shank jaw `'2G-is provided with a dovetailslot 30,

wrench.

ln Figs. 14, 15, 16,fand lfaimodiiedform of shank head 3i'si=sliownf,'fshaped infsuch a manner that'itsside faces are in lineWith the shank proper, in contrast with thefshank head shown in f theformerly mentioned figures. iivherefrhe 'head is broader than' the shankitself.

The exchangeable gripping jaw` .-32 /its With its parallel face intoiarecess 34 pros l it both sides of tlrewjaw'properthere are providedhalf-round Wings' 85, equipped with ani yapertur'e for lrecei/iinig vthe'screw 36.

Wiring-s 35i are adapted-to' straddlewhead 3 and screw y3(3is' i thenpassed :through both Wings and the head,`-asfindicated'infFig.: 1T.Referringito 10,111,112,1.13:,12afnd. 19, a "modified ferm ofrfmydeviceisfl shown lsifliere slide 115 is made! of one closed piece, 'its sidesbeingl lconnectedby fa bridge?,

which -is iadapted-'torfslide with vits 'lower beveled surface 112upon'` ther upper beveled surface 113' of extension lofr'carriage106.

At f approximately the-#center at 881' of bridge `37, there may beattached=toi the. slide, resilient means '120 for@ causing slide 115normally assuming they Iposition shown in Fig. 10.- Upon'th'euppersurface-39-of. 'bridge 37 comes to' restthe lower-surface ofexchangeable jaw member 40,.sliown| in' de- 'tail inFigs. 12 and 13,andlwhich is-soconstructed that two ofrfitsvsides 41an-d42 are offequalvlength While lonegripping facey 43 adjacent torside 41 Ais knurledsandAforms Withsid'e 41, a night-anglev-'as indicatedvat 44. '4 The`other'gripping#face 45 form-sian angle ofless ItlianfSlOf" The-fifontuportion of `thef j-aiv'imember indicated 47 eXtendsfbeyondIt-lrejaw vniemper preper"fand'vfacesV and-491` are ma de paralle to faces41-2and1421respectivelygand are adapted to rest upon the upper beveledsurfacesv 50 'of' thel sides ofthe slide.

By means f of r:screvv- 31,l the Supper -wi th the adjacentl de Meal eohas a dovetail undercuti 52 forreceiving the dovetail portionsy ofanother jaw member l provided with a serrated gripping lt will be notedthat there is provided a space within the jawlmember 53 Aindicated atand side spaces 56` allowing fory the spreading of gripping faceI 5l.

By means of the head 103,`thejaw"member '53 may be fixedly securedv tolthe head.

VVheIrit isl desired to use my device as a.

jawmember 40 is placed in" the position shown in Fig.v l0 so that thepipe wrench,

serrated gripping surface is ldisposed opposite 'the serratedsurface ofexchange1L able jaw 53.' lVh'en' thus 4set thejaw 40 vis attached bymeans of screws 129 to thesides of slide 13.5, whichfscrews passAthrough apertures 58 and 59.v

. When it is desired to use my device` as a monkey wrench, screws 129'then pass through.apertures 58 and 60. nthis man' ner }the' lrnurledAsurface 43 becomes theVV Simultaneously the up-l per jaw 53 is removed,whereby the lnurled.

gripping surface.

gripping surface 5l comes in action.- Both of the knurledsurfaces arethen` parallel and'my ydevice i's'then adapted for use .as a

monkey wrench. i

l'n Fig` 18 I have shown one of thepossible designs involvingautomatically fine adjusting jaws .which indicates that I not onlyintend to use one stationaryl and onev automatically line adjusting jaw,but that I intend to apply such automatically adjusting jaws to bothgripping ends vof vthe wrench.

When my device is used as a pipe wrench as shown in Fig. 4L, carriage 6is` roughly adjusted to the size of the pipe or any other articleindicated at 6l, then the jaws arev brought down upon the article,whereby slide 15 is caused to move inthe direction indicated by" arrowIV. Slide l5 being forced to glide upon the beveled surface 11` moves intransverse direction tof the` direction of ope-ration of the wrench, butalso shifts toward stationary jaw surface of headl 3. In this manner thearticle 6l is instantaneously gripped between the jaws, and the gripprogressively increased during the downwardy motion of lthe handle ofthe vw rench. i

',lfhrough the construction of v`my device,

Vit is evident that the angle vat which the maticgripping.procedurej.takes zplace, as

screw 57 passing through'` the sides of jaw vmember 53 andt-hroughheretofore. j

One of the most important features of my .i

article, while thewrench handle is theonly `l5 to` move to its normal.position, and-the grip .of the l jaws;v upon" thearticle:isin

stantlyrele'ased. i Y

l is brought back again` and the samelauto-vy lVhe'n lpipe (llista n.Wai be found aia .there rsbseiaiay no 4lostfmoti'on ginthe movementsofthe l wrenchr proper, as'y the: article is. gripped. f

'instantaneously in Y, `such :a l secure i manner that any v slip ispositivelyeliminated.

yrlvheabove feature isof particular im i portance when ymy device'isused as anion-ff;

"l'rey, wrench'lcand especially `v`when used. upon nuts. ylnordermtoconvert thepipe wrench intov a monkey.: wrench, Athe gripping jaws 1vare set parallel with each other. The carriage-l is thenroughly.adjusted by-means of worm Qfengaging raclc sothat thejaw -facesare sufhcient-ly apart to gripthe sides.

ofthenutiVA When pressure cis vao l applied jupon' shanlrh i thepressurekis transmitted 4by means of the y beveled surfa'cellllto slidel5, andthus the f awv Qwhich moveswin opposite direction to the movementofftheA shanlryor.y rather ,re-r j mains stationary, while' lthe lwrenchproper q is moved, is pressed toward l,the otherjaw. Q

Due to'thisoperation the `grip `upon 'the i nut is n greatly increasedandmade absolutely positive, thus preventing vany slips,

which is generallyv thecase in wrenches usedI invention `is that whenrfagripping 4an article, it is not necessary 'to manually re'-4 adjustthedistance between the jaws, 'since they automatically 're-adjustthemselves by `means of the slide glidingy uponthe beveled surface ofthe carriage, which means a greatl excelled convenience to the. user."

l saving of time and labor besides" being of un-4 This' featureappliesto my device lwhen` `used las either a pipe wrench or monkey wrench,both of which lattertypesnow in use necessitate lfrequent manualre-adjust-' ment while in opera-tion.` i. .By following exactly `theoperation of my device when clamping an "article,it will beil 115 jgagement with the article move but in one' i dlrection, thatis towardeach other. rIlhey do nototherwise change their position relanoted thatthe jaws; once brought into en-` tive to the article, butthey are forcedtoward each other by the movement of the-wrench" handle gliding withitsbeveled surface l11,;

of the carriage, against the4 beveled surface of the slide.- The jawstherefore, remain sube.

stantially stationary relative to the clamped part which movesin,v so asto speak,circum kferential direction relative to the article The gripuponthel article `is progressivelyl and .proportionately `increased asthe pressureexerted upon the handle increases. l

From the foregoing it will be'evidentfthat the'*surfaceorfsurfacesgripped bythe jaws ferencej or Which have Various grip facili-- tatingmeans, like i'ih's7 i etc;l

lvl/'hein toi-l instance, a pipe or nippleheconnes.I flattened .to an;ovalroif eliptical shape,

whicliiis' very often thefcase by either faulty.

manufactuile oi" by the use ot. undue force upon these articles,thewienches used heretofore necessitate frequent reeadjusting whenever`alteifnately 1gripping the come" pressed. pai-ts or expanded parts ofthe" pipefr whereas my device automaticallyadjusts. it-v, seliL due tothe self-adjusting feature of: the@y j aws..

r1While l have shown speciicdesigns ciu-'my d device,he'itunderstoodthat Various changes and improvements 'may .be made, as* long asthelmain feature ofiny device, the;automatic p fine adjustment of thedistance between: the;

jaws, is adhered to'. v

I'therefore reserve for myself the right to make 'such'x changes .v andlilpioVenfientsly tot n moet vthe various .conditions ,ariving tronithenianiifoldaises toiwhichiny device is apV-'j plieable, and I cla.im.:

ln! a Wrench, ashank,y a'. car'ifiagehaving a 35 beveled upper. surfaceanda beveledexten sion adjacent-to `the-*innen surtace ofthe shank, abeveledwslide einbiacing'the outer and the sideffaces of, the shank andsubstantially; open attheinnei-ace-ot saidshank, 40; sald slideadapted-toglide Withits beveled surface upon thel :beveled suraceof saidcarriage, a guide slotv pi'ovidedginthebeveled extensiony ot' saidcai'i'1age, afguide/ pin pass.

fing;hthiough,` the sides-,7' of; said slide and 4155l f through A vsaidslot, a jaw arranged. y between thersides offsaid slide: at a distan/cefromthefi inner surfaceof said shank, springmeansg for: normally keepingthe jaw, attachedf-to,A

said slide7 leaving* a free-space bet'Wee/nythe. 50;-l Jaw and the innershank surface, perini t tii1g.y l(

however, its automat-ic motiontoward nthel shank when an. article-,isgiipped hyv the-- jan/*sa whereby thewdistance' vbetweennffthel vlatteris decreased-Without alteringthegangue 55 v lar relation of the jaws.` vs Signed at New York, int-he countygof New York' and State of N ewYork.,thisfBOth: day-1 of Aprih' A LD. 1921,- KALLE WgvWIRTANEN.

